Nature’s Ways Innovation Challenge: Overcoming Job Loss
What about using nature’s ways to find innovative solutions to everyday challenges such as losing a job? In this edition of Disrupting the Norm, we collaborated with Dr. Olga Bogatyreva, director of BioTRIZ and an expert in bio-inspired inventive problem-solving, to explore this possibility.
BioTRIZ, established in 1990, is a methodology that adapts the original TRIZ framework (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving, 1946) by incorporating principles from biology and natural systems. Unlike Biomimicry, which relies on inspiration from nature to solve problems, BioTRIZ uses the laws of living nature in the same way engineers use the laws of physics. By distilling the "active ingredients" of nature’s problem-solving methods, BioTRIZ offers a robust toolbox and templates for generating innovative solutions. It outlines 50 laws of nature specific to various challenges, providing rules and guidelines for innovators. Notable among these laws are intriguing titles such as Quantum Leap Dynamics, Sleeping Beauty, and Fundamental Equation of Life.
The Challenge
Turning Challenges into Opportunities: Innovative Strategies for Overcoming Job Loss
Alex is a great person. For many years, he worked hard to provide for their family. But one day, the company where Alex was employed closed down. With no other job in sight, Alex’s world turned upside down. There was no money saved, only bills waiting to be paid. The apartment he rented felt like a heavy weight on his shoulders.
Alex spent days looking for a new job, sending applications online, and visiting many shops and offices to ask if anyone needed help. At night, he would sit at the kitchen table, looking at the bills and wondering what to do next. The children can see that Alex was upset, but Alex tried to stay strong and reassured them that everything would be okay. As fear crept into Alex’s heart, he pondered how they would manage to eat and keep a roof over their heads.
In Search of the Nature’s Way Solutions
Let's use the toolbox and templates from BioTRIZ to solve Alex's problem. In Stage 1 of the process, we ask this question: 'Is it really a problem?' Dr. Bogatyreva explains that a problem is just a conflict between what we want and the obstacles that are in the way. She also notes that sometimes it's very hard to name these obstacles, and occasionally, it's not entirely clear what we want.
For Alex, the process of solving his problem starts when he asks himself what he really wants and what is preventing him from getting it. Alex's main goal is to provide for his family. Finding another job is no longer the problem to solve.
At this point, we continue our test. BioTRIZ provides Alex with a structured innovation path to follow.
BioTRIZ Steps to Address Alex's Problem
According to BioTRIZ Stage 1, we first need to assess how critical the problem is by asking questions like: Is this part of a bigger challenge? Does it cause real harm? Is it your problem to solve? Can it be ignored?
In Alex's case, the situation is critical. It affects his entire family and cannot be ignored, so immediate action is needed. Given the severity, Stage 1 directs us to move to Stage 2, 'Ideal Final Result,' focusing on finding quick solutions rather than finding causes.
Stage 1 includes two groups of laws suitable for this pressing case. Each law has a set of strategies (template.) The first group of laws aims to improve reliability: "How can Alex support his family?" The second group seeks to achieve the ideal result, ensuring Alex's family is always supported without Alex needing to take any job.
Group 1: Laws to Improve Reliability:
Law 13: Alternatives
Law 16: Excessive Reliability and Partial Efficiency
Law 23: Feedback and Control
Law 42: The End Justifies the Means
Law 43: Yin and Yang Duality
Group 2: Laws to Achieve Ideal Result:
Law 14: Curves, Spheres, and Spirals
Law 20: Everlasting Value
Law 22: Fly in the Ointment
Law 25: Ideal Result
As we explore how these laws provide foundational patterns or “ingredients” for either innovative or conventional solutions, which might not be immediately apparent to a stressed-out person, it's crucial to understand the principles by which Nature operates. Nature functions without morals, ego, hidden agendas, bias, waste, status divisions, or emotions. It is pragmatic, prioritizing life above all else. Nature relies on information rather than brute force, negotiates outcomes for the greater good, supports slow processes for lasting efficiency, evolves in cycles, prefers comfort, creates protective buffers, favors multiple steps in energy conversion, and heals itself. Nature creates all the conditions for everything to happen naturally.
Solutions from Applying Living Nature Laws
Having assessed the critical nature of Alex's problem in Stage 1, we now move to Stage 2 of the BioTRIZ process. In this stage, we focus on finding practical and innovative solutions that can address Alex's challenges quickly and effectively.
Group 1 Solutions: Enhancing Reliability
Applying BioTRIZ Laws to Enhance Reliability: Featuring Images from 'Living Things as Inventors,' used with permission from the author.
Law 13: Alternatives recommends embracing unconventional methods to achieve desired results when conventional means are not available or possible. Innovative Ideas:
Just like nature, Alex can adapt to the new situation by exploring unknown or rarely used skills.
Alex can explore and create products or services for niches that are either unexplored by him or overlooked by others.
Alex can try new ways to support his family by minimizing his workload or even without a job:
Finding a source of passive income.
Participating in the sharing economy.
Moving to a self-sustaining community.
Exploring support through mutualism and reciprocity.
And many more options...
Law 16: Excessive Reliability and Partial Efficiency ensures that each function is supported by various structures, each capable of stepping in if another fails. Innovative Ideas:
Alex can list multiple ways to generate income that are accessible to him, even though each option might not produce the total amount of money he needs. He should not be afraid to use generative AI to match his skills with opportunities in the labor market, even those that seem unusual. Combined, these options could generate enough income to support his family.
Law 23: Feedback and Control is reflected in the proverb, "Adjust the sails when the wind direction changes." This law requires Alex to assess his actions and make necessary adjustments to obtain solutions that address his problem. Like dogs shedding excess hair in summer or trees dropping leaves in fall, Alex can review what he can eliminate in his life. Basic Ideas:
Alex can "shed" non-essential items and decide to keep only what is essential. For example, he can keep fundamental services but cancel unnecessary expenses. For entertainment, Alex and his family can explore low-tech options instead.
Alex can find affordable alternatives for pleasure expenses in the new situation.
He can find ways to give stored goods new value for sale or reuse.
Alex and his family can find what is considered 'waste' in the new situation. Like in nature, they can find ways to minimize or cut that waste.
Law 42: The End Justifies the Means suggests using any method to achieve a goal. It involves finding multiple ways to do the same function, identifying needed qualities to discover alternative options, and finding resources with the desired properties to achieve your goal. This law opens up possibilities that Alex may not have previously considered. Innovative Ideas:
When applying this law, Alex must be very careful in the new activities he tries to ensure they match his core values and principles. Sometimes it is necessary to give up something to get what you want, but Alex needs to be aware of the cost of doing so.
This can be a time for Alex to rethink himself. It is a moment to examine beliefs, old habits, emotions, parallel agendas, or distractions that may limit his progress toward his goal.
This can also be a time for Alex to reinvent himself. If Alex was doing office work, he can explore paid activities in new contexts.
Law 43: Yin and Yang Duality highlights the importance of duality in driving change and stability. Alex is not alone; he has a support group that offers different perspectives and ideas, enriching his experience. Innovative Ideas:
Until now, Alex has seen himself as an employee. To apply this principle, Alex can view himself as a company and become an entrepreneur. He can start a collaborative business where unemployed individuals share their skills to manage different aspects of the business.
Alex can trade roles with his partner, becoming the stay-at-home parent while the other partner finds a job to support the family.
Group 2 Solutions: Achieving Ideal Results
Applying BioTRIZ Laws to achieve ideal results: Featuring Images from 'Living Things as Inventors,' used with permission from the author.
Law 14: Curves, Spheres, and Spirals teaches us that life doesn't have to follow a straight, tough path. With a little twist, a roll, and a bounce, navigating the world can be as fun as a ball rolling downhill. Innovative Ideas:
Alex can engage in paid activities enjoyable to him that are repetitive or part of a process loop.
Alex can revisit activities from past cycles and upgrade or revamp them to generate income.
He can join common interest circles, clubs, or idea-generating groups that could lead to income.
Alex can transform hobbies, passions, or even activities he previously declined into sources of income.
Perhaps it is his time to accept that a personal cycle has come to an end and change is due.
Law 20: Everlasting Value is about ensuring the good things in life stay for the long term. This law is crucial for Alex’s wellness. Not everything has to be about work and stress. Innovative Ideas:
Alex can schedule regular family time, such as Saturday morning walks.
Alex can connect with members of his social networks that are relevant to his goal in new or more meaningful ways.
Alex can organize appealing affordable events for friends and their families to spend time together.
Law 22: Fly in the Ointment highlights the importance of perspective and the positive twists that can arise from setbacks. It advocates for changing how we perceive and respond to challenges. This can be a time for Alex to improve his life. The biggest harm from losing a job is not the loss of money but the perception that a person is losing work skills or value. Innovative Ideas:
Alex has received the gift of an unwanted change and will naturally tend toward resilience or the ability to recover from it. Some of his personal traits may incline him to oppose and resist the change. However, all resistance generates wear and exhaustion. Alex must be aware that there is a necessary adaptation process, and his attitude will speed up or slow down its completion.
Alex now has time that he didn't have before. Assuming he has found a way to support his family, he can use this time to enhance his education, improve skills in other areas that can result in additional income, or simply become a better person, preparing for a more successful future.
Alex’s skills might have been in the wrong place, time, amount, mode, user, or environment. Redirecting those skills to the right place, time, amount, mode, user, or environment might provide better job opportunities and improved family support. This is the self-innovation seed. If capitalized upon, the situation places Alex in front of an infinite number of possibilities, many of which he had never considered before. His previous road ends and a myriad of new roads open up in front of him.
Law 25: Ideal Result is about how we state our goals. It focuses on self-functioning and achieving goals with minimum effort, naturally or automatically. This law teaches us the fine art of goal setting in a way that nature itself would endorse: aiming for outcomes that not only meet the brief but do so with an elegance and efficiency that seems almost magical, proving that sometimes, the best effort is no effort at all. Remarks:
Alex should ponder what his ideal final result is and put all the ideas discussed above to the service of that goal. It is like setting a target and directing all the arrows to hit that mark.
Alex might say that his ideal final result is his family being supported without him doing anything for that. However, after some pondering, it could be something else.
He also needs to understand about the flexibility to use and discard what he uses for achieving his ideal final result. He also can change his goal.
Conclusion
Alex's choices will be guided by his ideal final result. Unlike nature, Alex has morals, ego, hidden agendas, biases, a tendency to generate waste, a concern for personal status, an affinity for divisions, and emotions that will frame how he achieves that final result. His innovative ability also depends on this.
By doing this test, it is easy to think that Alex gained greater clarity about his goals after losing his job. This exercise possibly helped Alex recover from the shock of the event and took him from not knowing what to do to finding a structured path that effectively addresses his situation. This journey could have given Alex direction, even though he might not achieve his ideal final result yet.
On a personal note, we can say that applying BioTRIZ to a non-technical situation allowed us to understand and resolve a problem by providing a frame for new perspectives. The solutions achieved go beyond those that could be devised in a brainstorming exercise, which Alex would probably have used to solve his problem. Applying BioTRIZ forced us to see ourselves not only as problem solvers but also to reflect on life.
Using nature’s “active ingredients” enhanced our ability to understand our reality in new and objective ways. At this point, it is possible that Alex may want to venture into his favorite childhood activity as a profession.
If you want to learn more about this topic, Dr. Olga Bogatyreva's Natural Innovation Series is available on Amazon. Her two books, Living Things as Inventors and Laws of Living Nature - Biology for Innovation, are very engaging and have many examples of how nature can help us find innovative solutions.
We hope this article has inspired you and shown you that even in tough times, we can find new ways to overcome challenges and grow stronger. Remember, the power to solve problems lies within you, inspired by the world around us.
DISCLAIMER:
The information provided in this content is for general guidance and inspiration only. We are not responsible for any actions taken based on this content or for any outcomes resulting from its use. Individuals should consider their unique circumstances and seek professional advice where necessary.
